It was a World Series match up I had projected back in March. Although a Yankees fan before anything else, the Philadelphia Phillies have become my unofficial B-team. And so the match did crate some mild conflict for me. The team I have grown up with and rooted for my entire life, verses the team that plays less the fifteen miles from my front door.
So as a Yankee Fan First and Foremost the 2009 World Series did not start off the way I would have drawn it up! New York Yankees Captain, Derek Jeter is my hero, my life mate, my love mate and my soul mate! I have no bigger man crush then the one I have for Derek Jeter. I expect a base hit almost every time Jeter is at the plate. If he doesn’t get a hit, 90 percent of the time he has a great at bat. He will put the ball in play, or he may line out hard to a position player. Derek is seldom one to ever give up an at bat. So when he struck out on three pitches to begin the offensive campaign for the Yanks, I went into panic mode. Fastball, curve ball, slider, and Phillies starter Cliff Lee had made Jeter look like a fool with three rapidly fast pitches.
TOM and I had seen a game in 2008, at the Old Yankees Stadium, where Cliff Lee pitched for the Cleveland Indians against the Yankees. Because I remembered his dominance in that game, and because I keep a scorecard from every game I’ve been to, I went back into the archives and looked up Lee’s stats prior the World Series. On Wednesday May 7th, 2008 Cliff Lee pitched seven innings, allowing no runs, on six hits, while striking out seven. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui were a combined 1 for 9 with two strikeouts. Lee was better then good in that regular season weeknight ball game, he was dominate! So on the grandest stage of them all (Game 1 of the World Series) I was anticipating an even better outing from Cliff Lee.
I wasn’t wrong.
In total, Lee threw 122 pitches (80 for strikes) in Game One. He pitched all nine innings, allowing just six hits, while striking out ten. He was awarded the MVP of game one by the Dugan & Dugan Sports Bureau. Not only had Game One ended poorly for the Yankees, but now the series was off to an undesirable start.
The side story to game one (if there was one behind Cliff Lee) was Chase Utley’s two solo homeruns. They accounted for all the offense the Phillies would need to be victorious. Philadelphia did add four more runs late in the game. But Lee’s dominance proved to be the overwhelming difference in game one.
Final Score of Game One of the 2009 World Series: Philadelphia 6, New York 1.
Philadelphia takes a 1-0 Series Lead
Game two featured an old Yankee nemesis wearing pinstripes. Relax! Not Pedro Martinez in midnight blue pinstripes. (That kind of visual makes me nauseous!) But rather Pedro Martinez in Phillies red pinstripes. Pedro Martinez did his best Roger Clemens impression this year, and became baseball’s hottest midseason free agent. The Phillies front office, believers in the philosophy “you can never have enough starting pitching”, jumped into the Pedro sweepstakes with both feet. On July 15th, 2009 Pedro Martinez signed a half-year, 1.5 million dollar contract to join the Phillies. Who knew then that Pedro would be back in New York for yet another Post-Season match up with the Yankees. Yet there he was, starting game 2. This time, he was pitching in the World Series, and this time for the Phillies of Philadelphia. At 37 years old, Pedro is now a very different pitcher then Yankee fans may have remembered. Now Pedro is finding new ways to get batters out with a velocity that tops out around 89 miles per hour. Game two of the 2009 World Series featured a new method of operation, but that same old Pedro. Pedro was actually throwing 69 MPH changeups, the results of which were very effective. When all was said and done, Pedro had pitched six very good innings. His mistakes were few, but costly. He allowed two solo homeruns (one to Mark Teixeira and one to Hideki Matsui). But when Pedro left to a serenade of Yankee boos, he was trailing 2-1. The reason Pedro stood to get a World Series loss was the curve ball of A.J. Burnett. Yankees starter, A.J. Burnett was throwing strikes and getting outs, and was just a little bit better then Pedro. As game two came to an end, and the series shifted to Philadelphia, power pitching was once again prevailing in the playoffs. The Dugan & Dugan Sports Bureau named A.J. Burnett the game two MVP.
Final Score of Game Two of the 2009 World Series: New York 3, Philadelphia 1.
Series tied at 1-1.
As game three shifted venues from New York to Philadelphia, I shifted from Philadelphia to New York. I went home for Game 3, watching the game with my uncle G.T. Steltz. The Yankees have never lost a playoff game when I watch from my uncle’s house. Sometimes I wonder which of my superstitions is worse, watching an insane amount of playoff games at my uncle’s house, or refusing to clip my toenails until after the World Series.
In hindsight, games three and four were where the series was ultimately decided.
Game three marked the first night in World Series history that a game had taken place on Halloween. There were plenty of tricks for Philadelphia but no treats when game three had concluded. The Phillies had a 3-0 lead on Andy Pettitte. Cole Hamels looked fantastic. But then, after a very innocent walk to Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Alex had been having the post season of his life before going 0-8 in the World Series. Alex was due. A-Rod's first ever World Series hit was a shot down the right field line. He pulled the ball with tremendous speed and power. In real time and with the naked eye, it looked as though A-Rod had just missed a homerun. It looked like the ball had hit off the very top of the wall and bounced back into the field of play.
“What a bad break we just caught” I said to my uncle.
I was wrong!
Enter the magic of instant replay. Fox showed replay after replay of the ball hitting a camera that was overhanging the field of play. Had the camera not been there, the ball would have just soared into the front row of seats. The umpires went down under the stands to review the play, and get a quick cup of coffee (according to my uncle). And when the came back, they had overturned the initial call of a double. Alex Rodriguez had just hit his first ever World Series homerun!
3-2 Phillies was the score after four innings.
The fifth inning saw the implosion of Cole Hamels. The Yankees got to Cole for three runs including an RBI base hit by pitcher Andy Pettitte. The mentally exhausted Cole Hamels turned the ball over to manager Charlie Manuel, and for the last time in 2009 Hamels walked off the mound. Last year Cole was a key component in the Phillies winning the World Series, this year he was a key component in their game three loss to the Yankees. Both teams would tack on runs, but the lead never changed and the Yankees held on to win a pivotal game three.
Final Score of Game Three of the 2009 World Series: New York 8, Philadelphia 5.
New York takes a 2-1 series lead.
I returned once again to my uncle G.T.’s home for game four.
“Here I am doing all the leg work for the Yankees” I thought to myself.
Truth be told, I enjoy my uncle’s company during any Yankee game anywhere. Just so happens that playoff games at his place produce the very best results. We also had a decent family gathering for game four at his house. This created a very “bad party” atmosphere!
Yankee starter C.C. Sabathia returned to the mound on just three days rest. His Philadelphia counterpart was Joe Blanton. For the first time in the World Series neither starter looked sharp out of the gate, and after one inning the Yankees had a 2-1 lead. It became evident early that both teams were desperately seeking a victory in this game. The nervous energy I was feeling, was only compounded my by my aunt Gert interrupting my focus from the game. She was asking me personal questions about the weather forecast, and my consumer preferred laundry detergent. The top of the fifth inning saw Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon deliver huge RBI base hits, giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. Although I took great pleasure in the runs scored, the thought I kept having was:
“Not enough!”
Maybe it was the home crowd, or the uncertainty of the Yankee pitching, but you could sense the momentum shifting in the Phillies favor. Then in the bottom of the 7th inning Chase Utley faced C.C. Sabathia for the seventh time in the series. In his prior six at bats Utley was three for six with a walk and two homeruns.
After his seventh at bat against C.C., the Phillies trailed by just one run.
Chase Utley had belted yet another solo homerun off of Sabathia.
“Utley just really has C.C.’s number” was my cry from the living room floor!
The Phillies were within one run, and the gap between the seventh and Mariano Rivera seemed greater then the Grand Canyon.
Joba Chamberlin relived C.C. in the 8th and struck out the side. But in and among picking up three strikeouts, he gave up a bomb to Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz.
The game was tied at 4-4. With Philly home field advantage and Brad Lidge warming in the bullpen, it seemed like the series would also be tied at 2-2 in just a matter of minutes.
The top of the 9th started out as disappointing as imaginable for the Yankees. Hideki Matsui quickly popped up to shortstop, and then Derek Jeter struck out. Brad Lidge was getting by with his fastball, and fooling hitters with his slider. Johnny Damon represented the last hope for the Yankees in the 9th. Johnny put together a plate appearance that will go down as one of the greatest of all time. Johnny fouled off two nasty sliders, and two 93 MPH fastballs. Then on the ninth pitch of the at bat, Johnny slapped a soft line drive into left field for a base hit.
The Phillies were quick to over shift their defense, as Mark Teixiera came to the plate.
For anyone not familiar with an over shift- it’s when a manager strategically positions is his infielders to compensate for a pull hitter. In the case of Mark Teixiera, the Phillies put their short stop on the right side of the infield and moved their third baseman to cover second base.
On the very first pitch to Mark Teixiera, Johnny Damon broke from first and stole second base. With third baseman Pedro Feilz out of position, and covering second base, Damon had stolen the base easily. But what happened next was as brilliant on Damon’s part, as it was clumsy on the Phillies part. Damon saw that no one was covering third base. In a split second decision, Damon darted for the open base. Damon found himself safe at third. He had two stolen bases all in one play.
Now, with a runner on third, Brad Lidge had grown leary of throwing his slider. Fearing that a slider in the dirt would skip away from catcher Carlos Ruiz, Lidge went with his fastball. The first fastball he threw to Teixiera hit him square in the back. That brought up the new king of clutch, Alex Rodriguez. All post season long, A-Rod had been delivering big hits in key moments. He didn’t fail in game four either. A-Rod doubled down the right field line, driving in Damon. The game was all but over. Jorge Posada doubled, driving in two more, but Mariano Rivera was already up in the Yankee bullpen. He had a lead, and as Rivera has proved so many times in the World Series, a lead is all that he needs to insure victory. He retired all three Phillies he faced on just eight pitches in the ninth.
Final Score of Game Four of the 2009 World Series: New York 7, Philadelphia 4.
New York takes a 3-1 series lead.
Coming back from being down 3-1 in a series is so insurmountable that it has only happened 11 times in MLB history. So although the Phillies had Cliff Lee going in game five, the Yankees odds to win the series were nearly locked up after game four’s victory. But the Phillies did have their ace in the hole pitching in game five. In typical fashion, Lee dominated the Yankees. He wasn’t as sharp as he was in game one, but he was good enough for a victory. Lee pitched 7 innings giving up five runs (three of his five earned runs came in the 8th). The Philadelphia bullpen managed to find a way to secure the last six outs of the game. Chase Utley’s mighty swing proved once again to be the key to victory. He had two more homeruns in game five, along with four RBI’s. The Phillies finally looked like the defending World Series Champions. They refused to lose the series on there home soil, and they had forced the series to a game six. However they were still down 3-2 in the series, they were headed back to New York, and the best of their starting pitching had just thrown for the final time in 2009.
Final Score of Game Five of the 2009 World Series: Philadelphia 8, New York 6.
New York holds a 3-2 series lead.
I had a feeling all day on Wednesday 11/4/09, that game six would be the final game of the World Series. I was very confident that the Yankees would win. My Philadelphia co-workers were equally confident in the Phillies ability to win. The media’s assessment was 50/50. Mike Francesca of sports radio fame was certain that Yankee starter Andy Pettitte would be awful in game six on three days rest. Fox broadcaster Mark Grace was certain the Yankees would finish it off in game six. With such a mix of opinion, I found my confidence almost odd. But this team was like few I have ever rooted for. From mid July up to the start of November, no team has been as dominate as these Yankees. These were not the 2008 Tampa Rays facing the Philadelphia Phillies. This is why I was almost certain the Yankees would win their 27 title in 96 years on Wednesday night.
Once again, I wasn’t wrong.
In one of the hardest fought, grittiest performances I have ever seen on a pitchers mound, Andy Pettitte pitched 5 and 2/3 innings for the Yankees. He pitched around tough Philly hitters, gave up a decent number of hits and runs, (3 runs on 4 hits) and threw 94 total pitches. But when he turned the ball over to skipper Joe Girardi, the 37-year-old left-hander had left his team with a 7-3 lead, needing only 10 outs for victory.
For as gritty, tough and creative Andy Pettitte was, Pedro Martinez was soft, ill, and lost pitching for Philadelphia. Pedro was slow to pitch, at times looked sick, and was throwing no faster the 85 MHP. From the first inning on, fans could tell that Pedro was not long for the game. He lasted only four innings.
But the real story of game six was the World Series MVP. Hideki Matusi put on a hitting display that will not soon be forgotten in Yankee lure. Matsui hit a two run homerun in the second inning, had a two RBI single in the third inning, and then he topped it off with a two RBI double in the fifth. All told Matsui had accounted for all but one of the Yankee runs in game six. Never before had a player (non-pitcher) who only started three games in the World Series won the MVP award. But Matsui’s efforts in game six put him over the top.
Lost in the shadows of the series was the performance of lefty reliever Damaso Marte. He struck out both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, before turning the ball over to Mariano Rivera. As "Enter Sandman" played for Mariano Rivera as he entered the game. The Yankees were in need of five outs to win the World Series. A strike out, double and pop up ended the top of the eighth inning. The final inning of 2009 was now under way.
The Yankees went quickly and quietly in the bottom of the eighth inning. The only note was a perfect swing by Derek Jeter driving a ball to right field. A classic Jeter base hit. If Jeter never has another World Series base hit, it was the perfect way for him to leave the fall classic. An inside-out base hit as the all time Post Season hit leader.
In the top of the ninth Rivera once again took his rightful place on top of the mound at Yankee Stadium. On his sixth pitch, and third cutter to Philly pitch hitter Matt Stairs, Mo got his first out of the ninth. Stairs lined up to second baseman Robinson Cano. The 50,315 at the Stadium were going nuts, millions more around the world waiting for the final two outs. On another six pitch at-bat Mo walked catcher Carlos Ruiz. The suspense prolonged just a little while longer. When Jimmy Rollins stepped to the plate, he jumped all over the second cut fastball he saw. He launched it deep to right field, and for a moment I thought the Phillies still had life. But Nick Swisher was quick to rest under the ball for the second out of the inning.
The final batter of 2009 was Shane Victorino, and he would not go quietly into the night. Shane took a strike, swung and missed at a strike, took three balls, and fouled off four strikes. Then on his tenth pitch of a terrific at bat, Shane weakly ground the ball to second baseman Robinson Cano.
Cano, with all the pressure in the world on his left arm, tossed a twenty-foot strike into the glove of first baseman Mark Teixeira. Teixeira had secured the ball in his glove, with his right foot on first base. The Yankees had won the World Series! Teixeira had raised his right arm in victory. Rivera pumped his fist. The infielders all began running in different directions, until they all found their way to the area between third base and the pitchers mound. That is where they found Alex Rodriguez, the single most significant force in the Yankees 2009 season. The celebration began just before midnight. It lasted until well after sunrise.
So as a Yankee Fan First and Foremost the 2009 World Series did not start off the way I would have drawn it up! New York Yankees Captain, Derek Jeter is my hero, my life mate, my love mate and my soul mate! I have no bigger man crush then the one I have for Derek Jeter. I expect a base hit almost every time Jeter is at the plate. If he doesn’t get a hit, 90 percent of the time he has a great at bat. He will put the ball in play, or he may line out hard to a position player. Derek is seldom one to ever give up an at bat. So when he struck out on three pitches to begin the offensive campaign for the Yanks, I went into panic mode. Fastball, curve ball, slider, and Phillies starter Cliff Lee had made Jeter look like a fool with three rapidly fast pitches.
TOM and I had seen a game in 2008, at the Old Yankees Stadium, where Cliff Lee pitched for the Cleveland Indians against the Yankees. Because I remembered his dominance in that game, and because I keep a scorecard from every game I’ve been to, I went back into the archives and looked up Lee’s stats prior the World Series. On Wednesday May 7th, 2008 Cliff Lee pitched seven innings, allowing no runs, on six hits, while striking out seven. Derek Jeter, Johnny Damon, and Hideki Matsui were a combined 1 for 9 with two strikeouts. Lee was better then good in that regular season weeknight ball game, he was dominate! So on the grandest stage of them all (Game 1 of the World Series) I was anticipating an even better outing from Cliff Lee.
I wasn’t wrong.
In total, Lee threw 122 pitches (80 for strikes) in Game One. He pitched all nine innings, allowing just six hits, while striking out ten. He was awarded the MVP of game one by the Dugan & Dugan Sports Bureau. Not only had Game One ended poorly for the Yankees, but now the series was off to an undesirable start.
The side story to game one (if there was one behind Cliff Lee) was Chase Utley’s two solo homeruns. They accounted for all the offense the Phillies would need to be victorious. Philadelphia did add four more runs late in the game. But Lee’s dominance proved to be the overwhelming difference in game one.
Final Score of Game One of the 2009 World Series: Philadelphia 6, New York 1.
Philadelphia takes a 1-0 Series Lead
Game two featured an old Yankee nemesis wearing pinstripes. Relax! Not Pedro Martinez in midnight blue pinstripes. (That kind of visual makes me nauseous!) But rather Pedro Martinez in Phillies red pinstripes. Pedro Martinez did his best Roger Clemens impression this year, and became baseball’s hottest midseason free agent. The Phillies front office, believers in the philosophy “you can never have enough starting pitching”, jumped into the Pedro sweepstakes with both feet. On July 15th, 2009 Pedro Martinez signed a half-year, 1.5 million dollar contract to join the Phillies. Who knew then that Pedro would be back in New York for yet another Post-Season match up with the Yankees. Yet there he was, starting game 2. This time, he was pitching in the World Series, and this time for the Phillies of Philadelphia. At 37 years old, Pedro is now a very different pitcher then Yankee fans may have remembered. Now Pedro is finding new ways to get batters out with a velocity that tops out around 89 miles per hour. Game two of the 2009 World Series featured a new method of operation, but that same old Pedro. Pedro was actually throwing 69 MPH changeups, the results of which were very effective. When all was said and done, Pedro had pitched six very good innings. His mistakes were few, but costly. He allowed two solo homeruns (one to Mark Teixeira and one to Hideki Matsui). But when Pedro left to a serenade of Yankee boos, he was trailing 2-1. The reason Pedro stood to get a World Series loss was the curve ball of A.J. Burnett. Yankees starter, A.J. Burnett was throwing strikes and getting outs, and was just a little bit better then Pedro. As game two came to an end, and the series shifted to Philadelphia, power pitching was once again prevailing in the playoffs. The Dugan & Dugan Sports Bureau named A.J. Burnett the game two MVP.
Final Score of Game Two of the 2009 World Series: New York 3, Philadelphia 1.
Series tied at 1-1.
As game three shifted venues from New York to Philadelphia, I shifted from Philadelphia to New York. I went home for Game 3, watching the game with my uncle G.T. Steltz. The Yankees have never lost a playoff game when I watch from my uncle’s house. Sometimes I wonder which of my superstitions is worse, watching an insane amount of playoff games at my uncle’s house, or refusing to clip my toenails until after the World Series.
In hindsight, games three and four were where the series was ultimately decided.
Game three marked the first night in World Series history that a game had taken place on Halloween. There were plenty of tricks for Philadelphia but no treats when game three had concluded. The Phillies had a 3-0 lead on Andy Pettitte. Cole Hamels looked fantastic. But then, after a very innocent walk to Mark Teixeira, Alex Rodriguez came to the plate. Alex had been having the post season of his life before going 0-8 in the World Series. Alex was due. A-Rod's first ever World Series hit was a shot down the right field line. He pulled the ball with tremendous speed and power. In real time and with the naked eye, it looked as though A-Rod had just missed a homerun. It looked like the ball had hit off the very top of the wall and bounced back into the field of play.
“What a bad break we just caught” I said to my uncle.
I was wrong!
Enter the magic of instant replay. Fox showed replay after replay of the ball hitting a camera that was overhanging the field of play. Had the camera not been there, the ball would have just soared into the front row of seats. The umpires went down under the stands to review the play, and get a quick cup of coffee (according to my uncle). And when the came back, they had overturned the initial call of a double. Alex Rodriguez had just hit his first ever World Series homerun!
3-2 Phillies was the score after four innings.
The fifth inning saw the implosion of Cole Hamels. The Yankees got to Cole for three runs including an RBI base hit by pitcher Andy Pettitte. The mentally exhausted Cole Hamels turned the ball over to manager Charlie Manuel, and for the last time in 2009 Hamels walked off the mound. Last year Cole was a key component in the Phillies winning the World Series, this year he was a key component in their game three loss to the Yankees. Both teams would tack on runs, but the lead never changed and the Yankees held on to win a pivotal game three.
Final Score of Game Three of the 2009 World Series: New York 8, Philadelphia 5.
New York takes a 2-1 series lead.
I returned once again to my uncle G.T.’s home for game four.
“Here I am doing all the leg work for the Yankees” I thought to myself.
Truth be told, I enjoy my uncle’s company during any Yankee game anywhere. Just so happens that playoff games at his place produce the very best results. We also had a decent family gathering for game four at his house. This created a very “bad party” atmosphere!
Yankee starter C.C. Sabathia returned to the mound on just three days rest. His Philadelphia counterpart was Joe Blanton. For the first time in the World Series neither starter looked sharp out of the gate, and after one inning the Yankees had a 2-1 lead. It became evident early that both teams were desperately seeking a victory in this game. The nervous energy I was feeling, was only compounded my by my aunt Gert interrupting my focus from the game. She was asking me personal questions about the weather forecast, and my consumer preferred laundry detergent. The top of the fifth inning saw Derek Jeter and Johnny Damon deliver huge RBI base hits, giving the Yankees a 4-2 lead. Although I took great pleasure in the runs scored, the thought I kept having was:
“Not enough!”
Maybe it was the home crowd, or the uncertainty of the Yankee pitching, but you could sense the momentum shifting in the Phillies favor. Then in the bottom of the 7th inning Chase Utley faced C.C. Sabathia for the seventh time in the series. In his prior six at bats Utley was three for six with a walk and two homeruns.
After his seventh at bat against C.C., the Phillies trailed by just one run.
Chase Utley had belted yet another solo homerun off of Sabathia.
“Utley just really has C.C.’s number” was my cry from the living room floor!
The Phillies were within one run, and the gap between the seventh and Mariano Rivera seemed greater then the Grand Canyon.
Joba Chamberlin relived C.C. in the 8th and struck out the side. But in and among picking up three strikeouts, he gave up a bomb to Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz.
The game was tied at 4-4. With Philly home field advantage and Brad Lidge warming in the bullpen, it seemed like the series would also be tied at 2-2 in just a matter of minutes.
The top of the 9th started out as disappointing as imaginable for the Yankees. Hideki Matsui quickly popped up to shortstop, and then Derek Jeter struck out. Brad Lidge was getting by with his fastball, and fooling hitters with his slider. Johnny Damon represented the last hope for the Yankees in the 9th. Johnny put together a plate appearance that will go down as one of the greatest of all time. Johnny fouled off two nasty sliders, and two 93 MPH fastballs. Then on the ninth pitch of the at bat, Johnny slapped a soft line drive into left field for a base hit.
The Phillies were quick to over shift their defense, as Mark Teixiera came to the plate.
For anyone not familiar with an over shift- it’s when a manager strategically positions is his infielders to compensate for a pull hitter. In the case of Mark Teixiera, the Phillies put their short stop on the right side of the infield and moved their third baseman to cover second base.
On the very first pitch to Mark Teixiera, Johnny Damon broke from first and stole second base. With third baseman Pedro Feilz out of position, and covering second base, Damon had stolen the base easily. But what happened next was as brilliant on Damon’s part, as it was clumsy on the Phillies part. Damon saw that no one was covering third base. In a split second decision, Damon darted for the open base. Damon found himself safe at third. He had two stolen bases all in one play.
Now, with a runner on third, Brad Lidge had grown leary of throwing his slider. Fearing that a slider in the dirt would skip away from catcher Carlos Ruiz, Lidge went with his fastball. The first fastball he threw to Teixiera hit him square in the back. That brought up the new king of clutch, Alex Rodriguez. All post season long, A-Rod had been delivering big hits in key moments. He didn’t fail in game four either. A-Rod doubled down the right field line, driving in Damon. The game was all but over. Jorge Posada doubled, driving in two more, but Mariano Rivera was already up in the Yankee bullpen. He had a lead, and as Rivera has proved so many times in the World Series, a lead is all that he needs to insure victory. He retired all three Phillies he faced on just eight pitches in the ninth.
Final Score of Game Four of the 2009 World Series: New York 7, Philadelphia 4.
New York takes a 3-1 series lead.
Coming back from being down 3-1 in a series is so insurmountable that it has only happened 11 times in MLB history. So although the Phillies had Cliff Lee going in game five, the Yankees odds to win the series were nearly locked up after game four’s victory. But the Phillies did have their ace in the hole pitching in game five. In typical fashion, Lee dominated the Yankees. He wasn’t as sharp as he was in game one, but he was good enough for a victory. Lee pitched 7 innings giving up five runs (three of his five earned runs came in the 8th). The Philadelphia bullpen managed to find a way to secure the last six outs of the game. Chase Utley’s mighty swing proved once again to be the key to victory. He had two more homeruns in game five, along with four RBI’s. The Phillies finally looked like the defending World Series Champions. They refused to lose the series on there home soil, and they had forced the series to a game six. However they were still down 3-2 in the series, they were headed back to New York, and the best of their starting pitching had just thrown for the final time in 2009.
Final Score of Game Five of the 2009 World Series: Philadelphia 8, New York 6.
New York holds a 3-2 series lead.
I had a feeling all day on Wednesday 11/4/09, that game six would be the final game of the World Series. I was very confident that the Yankees would win. My Philadelphia co-workers were equally confident in the Phillies ability to win. The media’s assessment was 50/50. Mike Francesca of sports radio fame was certain that Yankee starter Andy Pettitte would be awful in game six on three days rest. Fox broadcaster Mark Grace was certain the Yankees would finish it off in game six. With such a mix of opinion, I found my confidence almost odd. But this team was like few I have ever rooted for. From mid July up to the start of November, no team has been as dominate as these Yankees. These were not the 2008 Tampa Rays facing the Philadelphia Phillies. This is why I was almost certain the Yankees would win their 27 title in 96 years on Wednesday night.
Once again, I wasn’t wrong.
In one of the hardest fought, grittiest performances I have ever seen on a pitchers mound, Andy Pettitte pitched 5 and 2/3 innings for the Yankees. He pitched around tough Philly hitters, gave up a decent number of hits and runs, (3 runs on 4 hits) and threw 94 total pitches. But when he turned the ball over to skipper Joe Girardi, the 37-year-old left-hander had left his team with a 7-3 lead, needing only 10 outs for victory.
For as gritty, tough and creative Andy Pettitte was, Pedro Martinez was soft, ill, and lost pitching for Philadelphia. Pedro was slow to pitch, at times looked sick, and was throwing no faster the 85 MHP. From the first inning on, fans could tell that Pedro was not long for the game. He lasted only four innings.
But the real story of game six was the World Series MVP. Hideki Matusi put on a hitting display that will not soon be forgotten in Yankee lure. Matsui hit a two run homerun in the second inning, had a two RBI single in the third inning, and then he topped it off with a two RBI double in the fifth. All told Matsui had accounted for all but one of the Yankee runs in game six. Never before had a player (non-pitcher) who only started three games in the World Series won the MVP award. But Matsui’s efforts in game six put him over the top.
Lost in the shadows of the series was the performance of lefty reliever Damaso Marte. He struck out both Chase Utley and Ryan Howard, before turning the ball over to Mariano Rivera. As "Enter Sandman" played for Mariano Rivera as he entered the game. The Yankees were in need of five outs to win the World Series. A strike out, double and pop up ended the top of the eighth inning. The final inning of 2009 was now under way.
The Yankees went quickly and quietly in the bottom of the eighth inning. The only note was a perfect swing by Derek Jeter driving a ball to right field. A classic Jeter base hit. If Jeter never has another World Series base hit, it was the perfect way for him to leave the fall classic. An inside-out base hit as the all time Post Season hit leader.
In the top of the ninth Rivera once again took his rightful place on top of the mound at Yankee Stadium. On his sixth pitch, and third cutter to Philly pitch hitter Matt Stairs, Mo got his first out of the ninth. Stairs lined up to second baseman Robinson Cano. The 50,315 at the Stadium were going nuts, millions more around the world waiting for the final two outs. On another six pitch at-bat Mo walked catcher Carlos Ruiz. The suspense prolonged just a little while longer. When Jimmy Rollins stepped to the plate, he jumped all over the second cut fastball he saw. He launched it deep to right field, and for a moment I thought the Phillies still had life. But Nick Swisher was quick to rest under the ball for the second out of the inning.
The final batter of 2009 was Shane Victorino, and he would not go quietly into the night. Shane took a strike, swung and missed at a strike, took three balls, and fouled off four strikes. Then on his tenth pitch of a terrific at bat, Shane weakly ground the ball to second baseman Robinson Cano.
Cano, with all the pressure in the world on his left arm, tossed a twenty-foot strike into the glove of first baseman Mark Teixeira. Teixeira had secured the ball in his glove, with his right foot on first base. The Yankees had won the World Series! Teixeira had raised his right arm in victory. Rivera pumped his fist. The infielders all began running in different directions, until they all found their way to the area between third base and the pitchers mound. That is where they found Alex Rodriguez, the single most significant force in the Yankees 2009 season. The celebration began just before midnight. It lasted until well after sunrise.
Final Score of Game Six of the 2009 World Series: New York 7, Philadelphia 3.
New York Wins The 2009 World Series 4-2.
Two days later the Yankees had their World Series victory parade in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan.
I was there.
The celebration of 1.5 million Yankee fans in the streets of New York is hard to describe. The madness that took place, as each player was showered with cheers, waves, and confetti was incredible. Every band that played, every float that went by, every human wearing midnight blue, captured the sprit of victory in a way that my words will never do justice to.
New York Wins The 2009 World Series 4-2.
Two days later the Yankees had their World Series victory parade in the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan.
I was there.
The celebration of 1.5 million Yankee fans in the streets of New York is hard to describe. The madness that took place, as each player was showered with cheers, waves, and confetti was incredible. Every band that played, every float that went by, every human wearing midnight blue, captured the sprit of victory in a way that my words will never do justice to.
As the last float carrying Mariano Rivera went by, the parade was gone. Soon the barricades holding the fans on the sidewalks up and down Broadway were opened. As the masses poured out onto the street, I looked to the north, up Broadway. I could see the last float 100 yards up the street. Suddenly this feeling of downheartedness had entered my life. The parade had literally passed me by. What had really happened was that the 2009 MLB season had come to an end. All that remained was the distant view of a final parade float and six NYPD squad cars. A mess of confetti, ticker tape and newspaper were last pieces of an unforgettable season.
Although the 2009 baseball season is gone, it will never be forgotten. The end of great baseball season was certainly the only thing that saddened me.
The result of the 2009 season is a very fair tradeoff!
In the fantastic words of John Sterling,
Although the 2009 baseball season is gone, it will never be forgotten. The end of great baseball season was certainly the only thing that saddened me.
The result of the 2009 season is a very fair tradeoff!
In the fantastic words of John Sterling,
Ball Game over…World Series over… Yankees Win ….THEE YANKEES WIN!
